Social representation of PR activism: Perceptions of early career public relations professionals in South Africa

A critical, socio-cultural turn in the public relations research agenda has shifted attention away from a predominately organisational focus to include the individual practitioner, and their symbolic power relationships (Curtin & Gaither, 2005). This has resulted in critical interrogation of issues such as dissent, power and activism in professional role enactment with an emergent, activist stance that actively questions and resists existing power structures and normative practices (Holtzhausen, 2012). This turn requires PR as well as in a diverse range of other disciplines to find new forms of addressing some of the wicked problems of our time, such as the social and cultural influences that public relations practitioners are subject to in enacting culturally sensitive public relations roles in their practice. The positioning of the critical-cultural and postmodern paradigms lends itself to the application of social representation theory (SRT) as a framework for analysis and understanding (Bauer & Gaskell, 2008; p. 351). However, to date limited research has been conducted on the social influences public relations practitioners are subject to in enacting culturally sensitive public relations roles in their practice, especially in respect of public relations practitioners who occupy junior to mid-level positions in formal employment contexts. In particular, individual influence and agency of entry level or early career public relations practitioners in South Africa has been under researched. It is against this background that this study aims to determine the perceptions of early-mid career South African PRPs on how they socially represent their activism in a poly-contextual and diverse cultural context. This is especially important in a context where PRPs are required to justify the value their actions have in achieving social change. The findings suggest that South African activist public relations practitioner (PRP) role enactment may not only entail promoting the interests of those who are marginalised and excluded from social contexts, but also requires advocating for the legitimacy of their own activist role in their contexts of practice.